This invention relates to footwear, and more particularly to selectively connectable portions of footwear to form multiple size and style boots.
There are numerous shoe constuctions which include detachable sections for facilitating their use on a wearer's foot, as well as for adjusting for various sizes and styles of the shoe. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,302,596 describes a shoe which contains a sole to which various uppers can be connected. The uppers are divided into sections which permit their interconnection and the completed upper can then be connected to the sole portion. The upper typically includes a divided rear portion which can be fastened together.
Another type of shoe construction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,235,490 which again includes a fixed sole portion and an upper containing a slit along the side thereof by which a fastener can connect the two portions of the upper. Furthermore, a fastener such as a zipper is provided to detach the complete upper from the sole portion. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,367 additionally provides a shoe construction which includes a first part having a sole and heel with interconnecting straps, in the form of a sandal, and an upper attachable to the sandal portion.
In each of these constructions, the upper is selectively detachable from the sole to facilitate entry of a foot into the shoe, or to vary the size of the upper while maintaining the sole of a predetermined fixed size. While these patents refer to shoes, there are unique special problems in connection with boot construction.
Typically, boots come in various heights. Occasionally, there is provided an ankle high boot which includes a shoe construction having an upper with an extended top portion rising up to the ankle. Other types of boots continue even higher than the ankle and include a tubular portion extending up to and generally including the calf of the leg. Occasionally, the tubular calf portion will be split to facilitate entry of the leg into the boot. However, the height of the boot is generally fixed once the boots are purchased. Of course, it is possible in some cases to fold over the top of the boot and thereby lower the height of the boot, but this becomes difficult, and frequently impossible, when the boot material is of heavy construction or of stiff material.
Accordingly, when a user pruchases a pair of boots, the height of the boot is fixed and must be maintained once purchased.
Boots further present an additional problem which is not faced in shoe construction. With shoes, the desire is to provide a proper sized upper. To do that, generally the only concern is the length and width of the foot itself. With boots, especially calf high boots, there is an additional size dimension which must be considered. Specifically, the girth of the calf of the leg. Many individuals may have a small foot size, but heavy calf portions. Therefore, although a specific boot size may be prescribed for that individual, the boots will be most uncomfortable because the calf portion of the boot will not comfortably fit around the calf of the leg. To accommodate such varying calf thicknesses, it is frequently necessary to place a slit in the tubular portion of the boot, or use straps, or other means to permit varying of the tubular circumference of the boot. However, this detracts from the beauty and elegance of the boot style and also makes it difficult to put on the boots since they must always be properly adjusted by means of the snaps, ties, or other straps providing the size adjustment for the calf thickness.